Kazakhstan: the ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings against defence lawyer

Kazakhstan: the ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings against defence lawyer

The Kazakhstan authorities should withdraw the unfounded and abusive disbarment proceedings begun this week against prominent Kazakh defence lawyer Daniyar Kanafin, the ICJ said today.

The attempt to annul Mr Kanafin’s licence to practice follows public comments in which he criticised the Kazakh law on state secrets as contrary to international law. The National Security Committee has sought his disbarment on the grounds that these comments create a negative image of the Government and of Kazakh legislation in the eyes of the international community.


Kazakhstan-ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings-Press Release-2009-Eng (full text, PDF)

Kazakhstan-ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings-Press Release-2009-Rus (full text, PDF)

Governments must not impede courts’ disclosure of torture allegations

Governments must not impede courts’ disclosure of torture allegations

The UK government and the new US administration must ensure that the independence of the courts, and their ability to disclose information essential to accountability for crimes of torture, is not undermined.

The main threat is the withdrawal of intelligence co-operation, the ICJ said in response to yesterday’s Divisional Court judgment in R (Binyam Mohammed) v Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

UK-US-Governments must not impede courts’ disclosure of torture allegations-web story-2009 (full text, PDF)

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